{"id":126364,"date":"2026-05-05T12:46:17","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T10:46:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/?p=126364"},"modified":"2026-05-05T17:16:34","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:16:34","slug":"in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/","title":{"rendered":"Im Gespr\u00e4ch mit Tadashi Kawamata"},"content":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":347,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11856],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sleek-art"],"acf":{"legacy":false,"exclude_from_ads":[],"hero_title":"","subtitle":"","hero":{"video":false,"image":false,"header_color":"black","overlay_color":"","overlay_text_color":"black"},"teasers":{"video":false,"image":{"ID":126366,"id":126366,"title":"","filename":"TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-3.jpg","filesize":1551345,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-3.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-3\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":126364,"date":"2026-05-05 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Kawamata's studio. Photography by Florie Berger."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

Since my conversation with the Japanese artist Tadashi Kawamata<\/a>, I have been thinking about \u201cVerortung\u201d, one of those German words that only find limiting translations. It somehow demands language to form itself around it, like a spatial framework. It describes the act of placing something or someone in a specific context, location, or framework \u2013 physically or conceptually.<\/p>\n

The act<\/em> here is the crucial part \u2013 something is in motion, not fixed, temporal. All things that play a huge part in Kawamata\u2019s installations, which can range from small and intricate to room-filling, and ultimately to taking over whole buildings and urban structures. Always with wood, always organic forms that feel like foreign objects, unapologetically not blending in. Yet, through their organic form, they feel attractive; one wants to get close \u2013 the haptic quality \u2013 and, in a way, they often become an obstacle that slows the fast pace of our society and offers a moment to pause, see, think, and feel \u2013 whatever is provoked.<\/p>\n

In our conversation, Kawamata shares how important that process is \u2013 the conversation between him and the site \u2013 and how he plans things, drawing his ideas meticulously in the studio, only to then be led by the material and the site when installing the work. He is not beholden to the artistic vision, but rather offers a proposal and lets the site direct. At Ruinart<\/a>\u2019s residency, which runs for a whole year, Kawamata has joined the conversation with nature and presents three installations that extend the concept between art and site in a philosophical and beautifully simple way.<\/p>\n

As he shares his creative journey with me, explaining his work in philosophical and abstract ways, his answers are often simple \u2013 not because of simplicity, but because of the nature of things, which do not need to be dressed up. They are exactly right in their raw form of material and thought \u2013 refined and changed over time through the composition between artist, site, and visitor.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":126368,"id":126368,"title":"","filename":"TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15.jpg","filesize":1224306,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-15\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-15","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":126364,"date":"2026-05-05 10:14:32","modified":"2026-05-05 10:14:41","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1067,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15.jpg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15.jpg","medium-width":1067,"medium-height":1600,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15.jpg","medium_large-width":1067,"medium_large-height":1600,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15.jpg","large-width":1067,"large-height":1600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15-1024x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15.jpg","2048x2048-width":1067,"2048x2048-height":1600,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-15.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1067,"wpvr_mobile-height":1600}},{"ID":126367,"id":126367,"title":"","filename":"TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17.jpg","filesize":1032925,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-17\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-17","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":126364,"date":"2026-05-05 10:14:10","modified":"2026-05-05 10:14:35","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1067,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17.jpg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17.jpg","medium-width":1067,"medium-height":1600,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17.jpg","medium_large-width":1067,"medium_large-height":1600,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17.jpg","large-width":1067,"large-height":1600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17-1024x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17.jpg","2048x2048-width":1067,"2048x2048-height":1600,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-17.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1067,"wpvr_mobile-height":1600}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":"Photography by Florie Berger. "}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

Tadashi Kawamata<\/strong>
\nHello, my name is Tadashi Kawamata, Japanese artist. I live in Paris and Tokyo, and I’m seventy-three years old. My first international participation was for documenta in Kassel in 1987, which was my first time in Germany too. That was, of course, before the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and then I came back again in 1992, after its collapse. So everything was totally changing \u2013 a really interesting time. And I remember that I worked with a lot of free material back then, but after \u201992 all the scrap material was gone, because it went to the Eastern part instead. Kassel was like a showroom for Western Europe, and it had to present itself.<\/p>\n

Nisha Merit<\/strong>
\nWhat is your relationship to nature, specifically in terms of the residency at Ruinart, but also in terms of the interplay of temporality and permanence, which seems to be really important to your installations.<\/p>\n

TK<\/strong>
\nI\u2019m Japanese. Automatically, we are connected to nature because we have so many natural incidents happening \u2013 disasters, tsunamis, everywhere; nature is a force. So we cannot go against nature, or natural beings. Instead, we always follow nature. At Ruinart, I was invited to think about their nature. But I was also thinking about what the meaning of nature is in general; the concept of nature is quite recent. In the Roman age or the Middle Ages \u2013 they never talked about nature at all. They didn\u2019t have any category like that. So once industrialisation happened in Europe, when it became dirty and smoky everywhere, a philosopher said, \u201cback to nature\u201d. That was the starting point of this very modern concept and categorisation.<\/p>\n

But of course, for me personally, the concept of nature is quite different. I\u2019m using natural materials, which is also a very physical way of working \u2013 I don\u2019t use many factory-made things or computer-based processes. I use wood, which doesn\u2019t last very long; its temporality is embedded and depends on the environment of my projects. So there is no real meaning of permanence. Permanence is kind of a fantasy of people who want to stay forever. Everybody is dying anyway; we are just temporary beings. So in my dictionary, permanence is nothing \u2013 there is just temporary. Maybe this comes from a kind of Buddhist philosophy.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":126369,"id":126369,"title":"","filename":"TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13.jpg","filesize":382322,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/tadashikawamata_cwn26_studio_ruinart-13\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"tadashikawamata_cwn26_studio_ruinart-13","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":126364,"date":"2026-05-05 10:17:47","modified":"2026-05-05 10:17:59","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1281,"height":1920,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13.jpg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13.jpg","medium-width":1281,"medium-height":1920,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13.jpg","medium_large-width":1281,"medium_large-height":1920,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13.jpg","large-width":1281,"large-height":1920,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13-1025x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1025,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13.jpg","2048x2048-width":1281,"2048x2048-height":1920,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-13.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1281,"wpvr_mobile-height":1920}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":"Image Courtesy of Ruinart."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

NM<\/strong>
\nYou said: \u201cI like the idea of miniaturisation. Big things become small; in-situ installations become objects. This changes the relationship with scale and the hand. An object is autonomous, closed in on itself, whereas an installation is in constant dialogue with the site, climate, and scale. They are complementary and enrich each other. Small formats enable me to test balances and tensions, and can later become monumental. It is important that the spirit remains the same, focusing on the hand, wood, and time.\u201d Can you talk me through the idea of scale and the relationship between body and work?<\/p>\n

TK<\/strong>
\nI actually used to study painting. But I did an installation in the atelier of the school, in which people were moving, walking through big canvases that were dividing the space, creating a tunnel-like structure. At first my inspiration was just dividing the space, but it became really interesting how people were not just walking around the canvases but through the work, going inside the installation itself. So this was like a starting point for me.<\/p>\n

And I really like to work with other people. Everyone has some ideas, I have some ideas, we fight \u2013 but eventually we find a good solution, so I really like the discussion process of the work. Scale also works like that; it is a kind of negotiation of the project.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":126375,"id":126375,"title":"","filename":"TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14.jpg","filesize":1155494,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-14\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-14","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":126364,"date":"2026-05-05 10:26:11","modified":"2026-05-05 10:26:16","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1067,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14.jpg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14.jpg","medium-width":1067,"medium-height":1600,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14.jpg","medium_large-width":1067,"medium_large-height":1600,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14.jpg","large-width":1067,"large-height":1600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14-1024x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14.jpg","2048x2048-width":1067,"2048x2048-height":1600,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-14.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1067,"wpvr_mobile-height":1600}},{"ID":126372,"id":126372,"title":"","filename":"TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13.jpg","filesize":995599,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-13\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"tadashikawamata_cwn26_portrait_florie_berger-13","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":126364,"date":"2026-05-05 10:22:17","modified":"2026-05-05 10:22:24","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1067,"height":1600,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13.jpg","thumbnail-width":64,"thumbnail-height":96,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13.jpg","medium-width":1067,"medium-height":1600,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13.jpg","medium_large-width":1067,"medium_large-height":1600,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13.jpg","large-width":1067,"large-height":1600,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13-1024x1536.jpg","1536x1536-width":1024,"1536x1536-height":1536,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13.jpg","2048x2048-width":1067,"2048x2048-height":1600,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":8,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_PORTRAIT_FLORIE_BERGER-13.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1067,"wpvr_mobile-height":1600}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"4","caption":"Photography by Florie Berger."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

NM<\/strong>
\nIs it about creating community through practice?<\/p>\n

TK<\/strong>
\nYes, very much. I\u2019m like a carpenter \u2013 cutting wood, making something simple for the house. But once I have to plan the project, I really need to be alone \u2013 to stay in my tiny atelier, and to look at it from a bird\u2019s-eye view, like a miniature. So it\u2019s a very good balance for me \u2013 between the idea and the physical work. And again, the scale comes from the site \u2013 if it is a public space, big park, forest, or a museum. That is another layer shaping the work, the community, and the scale, and it always depends on the time, weather, and the situation on site.<\/p>\n

NM<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s an interesting psychology of space, because in public spaces we interact differently. And your installations are intriguing in the way you said \u2013 they communicate, they sometimes become an obstacle, but also an offering to pause.<\/p>\n

TK<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s kind of disturbing everyday life for them. The first reaction is very strong \u2013 against it. But with time it becomes more normal and turns into a part of everyday life \u2013 and then suddenly the installation disappears again. So they get a bit confused. Then they start questioning: what was that? Why did he make that? Now it\u2019s gone \u2013 what do they feel? It\u2019s like scratching on the surface of their lives. First it\u2019s disturbing, then something happens and changes in the public\u2019s perception, then something is gone \u2013 but the question remains.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"images","gallery":[{"ID":126373,"id":126373,"title":"","filename":"TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5.jpg","filesize":1239860,"url":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/tadashikawamata_cwn26_studio_ruinart-5\/","alt":"","author":"1","description":"","caption":"","name":"tadashikawamata_cwn26_studio_ruinart-5","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":126364,"date":"2026-05-05 10:23:30","modified":"2026-05-05 10:23:35","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1600,"height":1067,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5.jpg","thumbnail-width":128,"thumbnail-height":85,"medium":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5.jpg","medium-width":1600,"medium-height":1067,"medium_large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5.jpg","medium_large-width":1600,"medium_large-height":1067,"large":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5.jpg","large-width":1600,"large-height":1067,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5-1536x1024.jpg","1536x1536-width":1536,"1536x1536-height":1024,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5.jpg","2048x2048-width":1600,"2048x2048-height":1067,"trp-custom-language-flag":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5.jpg","trp-custom-language-flag-width":18,"trp-custom-language-flag-height":12,"wpvr_mobile":"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/TADASHIKAWAMATA_CWN26_STUDIO_RUINART-5.jpg","wpvr_mobile-width":1600,"wpvr_mobile-height":1067}}],"settings":{"fit_width":"6","caption":"Tadashi Kawamata's studio. Photography by Florie Berger."}},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

NM<\/strong>
\nYour main material for your installation is wood \u2013 when did that focus shift from painting?<\/p>\n

TK<\/strong>
\nYou see, the canvas is on a stretcher made from wood. So my first installation was taking the fabric out of its frame and only leaving the stretcher standing in the atelier. That was the starting point.<\/p>\n

From that moment, I never changed \u2013 I always use wood. It\u2019s like an international language, because I can get it everywhere. It\u2019s cheap, and if I need more I can buy it. Compared to metal or stone, you need special skills, heavy tools \u2013 but wood is easy to cut and assemble. And wood reacts to its environment \u2013 sun, moisture, rain \u2013 it\u2019s like a human being, it\u2019s like the skin of the installation, it is always changing shape.<\/p>\n

NM<\/strong>
\nYour installations also have a kind of rhythm \u2013 they almost seem to move, to morph into existing structures. How do they evolve in situ?<\/p>\n

TK<\/strong>
\nIt\u2019s quite spontaneous. Of course I plan, calculate with engineers \u2013 gravity, wind \u2013 but after that, on site, it depends on what happens in the process. Especially when using scrap material, you cannot imagine how exactly it will behave. It is one piece at a time, which is very important \u2013 it\u2019s never ending, never finished. If I get more time or material, I will continue. If there is too much rain, I stop and finish. For me, it\u2019s only one objective \u2013 to continue. Different countries, cities, people, time, sites \u2013 but always the same working philosophy.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"text_area","text_area":"

Credits<\/p>\n

Image 1: Tadashi Kawamata’s studio. Photography by Florie Berger.
\nImage 2 & 3: Photography by Florie Berger.
\nImage 4: Image Courtesy of Ruinart.
\nImage 5 & 6: Photography by Florie Berger.
\nImage 7: Tadashi Kawamata’s studio. Photography by Florie Berger.<\/p>\n"}]},"yoast_head":"\nIn Conversation with Tadashi Kawamata In Conversation with Tadashi Kawamata<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In Conversation with Tadashi Kawamata In Conversation with Tadashi Kawamata\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/de\/article\/in-conversation-with-tadashi-kawamata\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sleek Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sleekmag\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-05T10:46:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-05-05T15:16:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@sleekmag\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Verfasst von\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nisha Merit\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sleek-mag.com\/\",\"name\":\"Sleek Magazine\",\"description\":\"Sleek is Germany\u2019s leading independent media house\/brand for creativity and innovation located in Berlin the creative capital of the world. 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